DVD Review: Cesar Gracie - Gracie Jiu Jitsu Instructional

There are numerous Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu instructionals on the marketplace and in this review we take a look at a three DVD set on BJJ taught by Cesar Gracie. Cesar has a very good reputation as a teacher, and this is the most popular set in recent years from a member of the Gracie family.

The content is organized in a way that is somewhat similar to beginner BJJ lessons at a Gracie academy – assorted techniques that are only somewhat linked – in comparison with instructionals that are organized by a series of moves from a position (i.e. volume on attacks from the guard etc.). Most newer DVD sets are usually organized in the latter method, which is our preference as well.

The three discs are labelled Basic, Intermediate, and Advanced – each approximately two hours long and each divided into three volumes. We think these labels are a bit misleading as this is really more of a beginner/intermediate set. The best use will likely be for white and blue belts and those looking for more advanced, linked, or unique techniques may be somewhat disappointed. From time to time, Cesar also presents some introductory lessons on MMA / no holds barred fighting – this is not Cesar’s strength, and that content is very basic.

On the positive side, the instructionals contain high quality lessons. The details of each positions are noted clearly, and the angles are quite good to see what’s going on. Cesar explains concepts well, and as a bonus, his English is good (which is not always the case for BJJ teachers).

The set is focused on fundamentals and Cesar’s excellent explanations show why he is a sought after teacher. While there isn’t a massive amount of advanced material covered, core BJJ concepts and moves are presented well from a variety of positions – this is a nice set for someone who has been training BJJ less than three years.

Our negative comments have mainly to do with the poor technical and organizational design of the DVDs, rather than the quality of the teaching.

First, the set does not have a chapter-by-chapter options – meaning, not only is there no labelling, there are also no embedded DVD chapters so you cannot easily skip ahead to the next move or series. The only breakdown in each DVD is into three entire volumes. This is frustrating because the set does not come with a detailed table of contents or list of moves. In today’s market, this is somewhat unacceptable given how easy it is do this in DVD production. The usability of the DVDs would be greatly increased if this was addressed.

The second problem is that for some reason, many of the moves are repeated several times with no real different angle or reason – this can be annoying when combined with the previous point. For example, the first standing guard pass is repeated multiple times and finally a full pass is shown after fifteen minutes. After a slight fadeaway you assume Cesar is finally moving on, but the whole sequence is repeated again for another five minutes or so.

We saw repeats sometimes as many as four times for some moves with little gain to the viewer. If there was a new camera angle, it was often unnecessary and frequently accompanied with full verbal explanations of the entire technique again. DVD instructionals are made for replaying over and over – one can simply rewind and watch the whole explanation again (this is why chapter breaks are necessary).

That being said, as with any DVD instructional, it is the quality of the content that will ultimately make it a worthwhile purchase, and this is a indeed a solid set. If you are a white or blue belt, we can recommend the set as a very good companion to your regular training. However, before purchasing, please keep in mind the negatives we pointed out. The best price seems to be on amazon.com so here’s a link to the Cesar Gracie DVDs [click here for the amazon.com link]

The goal of our MMAembrace reviews are to provide independent product evaluations that will inform you and help you decide on your purchase. Since it is unclear as to what is actually on the Cesar Gracie DVDs, to help you better decide on whether to purchase this set and to make the collection more user friendly, we have provide breakdowns below of each DVD down with the time and techniques covered – we have also provided a master summary sheet in pdf format that we guarantee you will find useful:

[CLICK HERE TO DOWNLOAD PDF BREAKDOWN]

Enjoy it.

Basics – Volume 1 (41.19 minutes)

0.15 Clinch Takedown: push-pull with double

4.25 Clinch Takedown: leg trip/sit

5.35 Clinch Takedown: single leg to leg trip

7.40 Clinch Takedown: inside leg hook variation

9.40 Guard Pass: leg pushdown + lengthy discussion of fundamental passing principles

29.30 Guard Pass: elbow dig

36.24 Guard Pass: leg underhook

39.50 Guard Pass: combining leg pushdown & underhook

Basics – Volume 2 (36.26 minutes)

0.00 Pulling Guard

1.35 Guard Attack: collar choke

7.40 Guard Attack: kimura

13.55 Guard Attack: armbar

18.30 Guard Attack: triangle

23.20 Guard Sweep: scissor

27.50 Guard Sweep: double ankle grab

29.49 Guard Sweep: scissor variation with push

32.35 Guard Sweep: foot underhook (to avoid pass)

34.04 Guard Sweep: overhead

Basics – Volume 3 (37.29 minutes)

0.00 Side Control: general discussion

3.04 Side Control: americana

5.43 Side Control: scarf position

7.53 Side Control: armbar (step-over from scarf)

10.35 Side Control: transition from north-south

13.43 Side Control: transition to mount (leg-push)

17.05 Side Control: transition to mount (knee slide)

19.00 Knee-on-stomach: general discussion

22.45 Knee-on-stomach: armbar

24.45 Mount: spinning armbar

30.50 Mount: cross choke

33.08 Mount: americana

Intermediate – Volume 1 (38.23 minutes)

0.00 Clinch Takedown (no-gi): standup defense into the clinch

3.30 Clinch Takedown (no-gi): single leg to leg trip

4.50 Clinch Takedown (no-gi): push-pull

9.30 Clinch Takedown (no-gi): hip throw

13.50 Guard Pass: double underhooks

18.57 Guard Pass: knee/hip thrust into mount

21.06 Guard Pass: toreando

24.00 Guard Pass: modified toreando into knee-on-stomach

26.30 Guard Striking (no-gi): striking in the guard

32.17 Guard Pass (no-gi): can opener

35.02 Guard Pass (no-gi): leg pushdown with strikes

Intermediate – Volume 2 (43.19 minutes)

0.00 Guard Attack: collar choke with overhook

4.11 Guard Attack: armbar with overhook

5.26 Guard Attack: kimura with overhook

6.26 Guard Attack: collar choke with double overhooks

8.24 Guard Attack: triangle with overhook

11.27 Guard Attack: triangle to armbar transition

15.23 Guard Attack: armbar to triangle transition

17.19 Guard Sweep: leg underhook with kick

20.30 Guard Sweep: modified handstand

23.15 Guard Sweep: knee across (opponent on knees)

26.44 Guard Sweep: knee across (opponent standing)

28.06 Guard Striking (no-gi): heel kick with overhook

29.55 Guard Striking (no-gi): upward kicks from open guard

31.11 Guard Striking (no-gi): defending strikes

34.06 Guard Striking (no-gi): create distance from open guard

38.20 Guard Sweep (no-gi): half butterfly with overhooks

Intermediate – Volume 3 (41.55 minutes)

0.00 Side Control: kimura

4.03 Side Control: armbar

6.40 Side Control: americana/neck crank with legs from scarf hold

9.08 Side Control: armbar with legs from scarf hold

11.50 Side Control: arm triangle from scarf hold

14.10 Side Control: cradle crank from scarf

16.15 ount: reverse collar choke from side mount

19.50 Mount: armbar from side mount

21.46 Mount: collar choke from back

23.29 Mount: cross choke with armbar threat

26.51 Mount: armbar when choke is defended

29.32 Knee-on-Stomach: cross choke

32.00 Side Control: armbar finish 1

34.13 Side Control: armbar finish 2

36.33 Side Control: reverse collar choke from armbar finish

37.46 Side Control: taking the back from armbar finish

38.50 Side Control: opposite armbar

Advanced – Volume 1 (39.11 minutes)

0.00 Guard Pass: leg trap from double underhook

4.17 Guard Pass: leg trap from single underhook

6.04 Guard Pass: leg trap to take back

8.40 Guard Pass: leg trap to re-trap his leg

10.26 Guard Pass: leg trap to armbar

14.21 Guard Pass: breaking spiderguard grips

17.31 Guard Pass: one leg toreando

18.24 Guard Pass (no-gi): toreando variation to knee-on-stomach

21.07 Guard Pass (no-gi): knee slide by grabbing knees

24.00 Standing Attack (no-gi): guillotine

29.28 Guard Attack (no-gi): guillotine

30.32 Standing Defense (no-gi): guillotine

34.24 Standing Defense (no-gi): headlock

Advanced – Volume 2 (40.32 minutes)

0.00 Guard Attack: omoplata

4.25 Guard Attack: wristlock finish from omoplata

5.25 Guard Attack: omoplata while defending pass

6.30 Guard Attack: omoplata from triangle

8.16 Guard Attack: armbar and triangle options from omoplata

10.03 Guard Attack: armdrag to take the back

15.24 Guard Attack: sweep when taking the back is defended

16.52 Guard Attack: bicep slicer

19.20 Guard Sweep: bicep slicer setup sweep

21.23 Guard Sweep: bus driver / spider

24.59 Mount Defense: escape to butterfly

27.16 Mount Defense: escape to half guard

29.11 Mount Defense: leg hook escape to quarter guard then full guard

32.06 Side Control Defense: leg hook sweep

35.11 Side Control Defense: escape to modified triangle or kimura

37.47 Side Control Defense: escape to collar choke

Advanced– Volume 3 (42.36 minutes)

0.00 Mount: isolated arm attacks from high mount

3.42 Mount: armbar from high mount

6.01 Side Control: armbar finish 3

8.44 Side Control: step-over neck crank/choke

11.03 Side Control: arm triangle set up from step-over neck crank/choke

13.49 Side Control: armbar with knee-on-stomach/neck

17.24 Side Control: spinning armbar from knee-on-stomach/neck

18.40 Knee-on-Stomach: spin choke

21.44 Knee-on-Stomach: transition to knee-on-neck to setup spin choke

24.17 Mount (no-gi): striking discussion

28.37 Mount (no-gi): striking from side mount and taking the back

30.55 Knee-on-Stomach (no-gi): striking

33.14 Knee-on-Stomach (no-gi): neck crank

34.55 Knee-on-Stomach (no-gi): transitions to the other side

36.56 Side Control (no-gi): striking discussion